Well, can you believe it? It’s almost time for the Spring Recitals 2017! Sign ups are well into full swing with some recitals already full. If you haven’t had a chance to sign up yet, now is your time to do so. Visit www.awsom.info/recitals and fill in the quick form to ensure you are ready to roll for what promises to be one of the best recitals you’ve ever been to! We are excited to be gathering in the Mercer Music Hall, a brand new venue in Bellevue, next door to our previous facility at Northwest Pianos.

Picking pieces for the recital can be a tricky thing, and today we’re hoping to make that a little easier for you with two options and some of our best tips!

Let Your Teacher Do The ChoosingThe easiest option is to let your teacher pick out your piece. While it might mean that it’s not the exact piece you want to be playing, our teachers know our students pretty well, so hopefully you’ll be able to feature a piece that you are excited about. Your teacher might ask you to pick out a genre, perhaps you’d like to do a jazz piece this time around, or a classical piece, and from there your teacher can identify just the right piece for you!

You Do The PickingPerhaps there is a piece that has been sitting on your piano or in your mind, that you’ve been wanting to play for months, maybe even years! Adele, Taylor Swift, Disney, Rachmaninoff… who knows what it might be unless you say something. We suggest you show it to your teacher, they’re pro’s in knowing whether the song is the right level, the right challenge and the right goal for this recital. Maybe it’s not the right one for this time around, but maybe by the next recital that piece could be exactly the right level for you!

Regardless of who does the choosing for the recital, be sure to make some sensible decisions in your choosing:1. Learn a piece that can be mastered in time. You’re not going to want to be performing a piece that isn’t mastered in time, so pick it out soon and make sure you can have it sounding perfect two weeks or so before the recital, so that you can focus on the performance aspect for those last couple of weeks!2. Choose a song that you enjoy. Usually recital pieces take longer to master, so you’ll be listening to this piece and needing to practice it for even longer. Be sure to choose a piece that you will enjoy hearing!3. Challenge yourself! Don’t pick out a piece that’s too easy. While easy pieces can be fun to play once in a while, this is a good opportunity to challenge yourself to go to another level. Just don’t challenge yourself too much and be stuck on recital day.

Follow these guidelines and you will be set for recital day! Remember to come prepared with your books, make sure you know where you are in the order, get your seat situated properly, and play like a pro. Best of all, once all is said and done - be proud of yourself. Regardless of how your performance went, you got up there and performed for a lot of people and that is not something that everyone is willing to do.